underweight dog?

Question

we adopted a german shepherd which appears to be roughly 10-15lbs underweight. How can i go about getting him to a healthy weight in a healthy procedure? I heard canned food is good, is it true? I will be feeding him Natural Balance dog food (dry), I also have two rolls of their Beef and Lamb meals. Any good advice is much appreciated.

Answer 1

Natural Balance..is just that..a good natural balance of fats, proteins, and vitamins/minerals a dog needs..
If you feed supplements on top of that, you are upsetting the balance.

Just feed him 3 times per day, or free feed as much as he wants of the great kibble you have, and he will gain weight at the proper rate..

Extra fats or carbs will do more harm than good..

Answer 2

I have a small dog that is underweight as well. I have been told by a vet that he is healthy and I dont need to worry. Also that when dogs get neutered they tend to gain weight.
I keep dry dog food by his water dish day and night. If you find he eats it all at once then don't add more to his dish after it is gone.
Twice a day I mix some of his dry dog food with some canned food and feed it to him untill he is full. He gobbles it up.
It's important that you don't feed him too much all at once, gradually add a bit of canned food to his dry food so his stomach doesn't get upset. As long as you have the dry food out for him, he should gain the weight with time.
If you got him from a foster agency he should have already been health ok'd from the vet there, that should put your mind at ease a bit. I wouldn't hurt to phone the vet and get a second opinion.

Answer 3

All these answers were good. The best way to put weight on an underweight dog is to feed it on a regular basis like you would normally. The only difference is instead of Adult dog food, feed Puppy food. The puppy formula is higher in nutrients to give the dog everything that it needs to have a healthy start. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Since you adopted him he should have all his shots and be de-wormed! I am concerned that an under-weight animal was allowed to be adopted.

But nevertheless...........

Allow a few weeks (2 to 3 ) for him to get used to his new environment. Continue the "New Balance" (dry) but cut it in half, add a 15 oz can of wet food, mix it, add 1 cup of milk (any will do, whatever is in the fridge or to save money try Carnation/generic powdered milk) mix, wait for it to soften for about 5 minutes.

He should tear into it with vigor! Feed him more often! Try 3 times a day, then twice a day! Keep it at twice a day for 3 months. Add things like "pig ears, trite and chew bones".

Pet and comfort him. Play with him, accustom him to his new home. Allow him to eat at leisure for a period.

He should pick up some weight very fast.

Remember that animals, like humans, need to be conditioned to change. German Shepard's are a very sensitive breed.

Answer 5

If you just adopted the dog it will probably just take time for him to gain weight. Feed him three times a day. One cup of food each time, until he reaches his appropriate weight. My vet told me that can food is bad for dogs and has no nutritional value. Plus if you start him on can food, or anything else you may have a hard time getting him to eat dry food. He is probably just undernourished because of his previous owner, or maybe he was an unhealthy stray or abandoned. It will just take time, get him healthy the right way. Slowly.

Answer 6

You'll need to find a food that is high in energy just to help bulk he/she up. Most vet clinics have a weight program for both overweight and underweight dogs where they weighed and monitured weekly given a set diet ect untill there on their ideal weight. Depending on the age and health of you dog reasons to why your dog is underweight can vary. He/ she (depending on we you had adopted the dog) may have been mistreated and undernurished and just simply "fattning" he/she up with good quality food may do the trick. Canned food isnt really the best as it can contain up to 70% water and not enough nurishment for your dog, i honestly dont recogmend the processed meat rolls as they are packed with preservatives more so than canned and the ingrediants arent really listed and therfore can contain anything up to arsenic and not have to list it, i find when it does come to alot of pet food people (as in the ones manufacturing the pet food) are just money hungry and produce a food for your pet that just doesnt meet even half of their daily requirments. kangaroo meat is great as its a rich meat and full of protien.

He/she may even have a metobolic problem/disease/disorder where it maybe hard for them to put on anyweight, but this is thinking on the other side of the scale...

I would recommend talking to your dog local vet finding what is best for your new addition to the family maybe putting him/her on a weight program just to monitor closely what is going on.

Hope everything goes well (",)

Answer 7

I adpoted an abused and neglected doberman pinscher whom had a problem gaining weight. You should not give your dog canned food only. Not only will it make him go potty more, but he needs the hard food for his teeth. We went thru lots of money trying to fix our dogs weight problem, including thryoid testing. He ended up being diagnosed w/ am anxiety disorder, which caused his metabolism to be really high. After having him neutered, the vet recommended a dog food called Neutro Max. This brand is sold at petsmart and petco. It has worked wonders for our dogs weight, and it also has a huge advantage---your dogs body absorbs more food so not only do they gain weight, but they will "poop" less.

Answer 8

this may sound very weird but it does put weight on animals ya ready for this.........
Baby cereal a bowl a day in mornings depends on your dog if he will eat it! pablem works great